JAMES Hamilton has been left out of Leicester's 22 for the Heineken Cup clash with Edinburgh today, but Scotland's World Cup lock could be gracing the Murrayfield turf in the hosts' colours in the near future.
Hamilton has struggled for first-team action at Welford Road and The Scotsman understands that, despite Leicester initially vetoing a move, Edinburgh and the SRU – supported by national coach Frank Hadden – are keen to tempt the 25-year-old to the
capital, and his club may consider letting him go this month rather than keep him on the wage bill while he plays in the Six Nations Championship.
Hamilton was disappointed to be left out of the squad this weekend, particularly with his father, also James, flying back from security duties in Iraq for the match. The Tigers player said: "The depth of the squad at Leicester is so great that it's one of these things you just have to accept. I thought I'd been playing quite well lately, but a lot of rotation goes on here.
"I don't think it has anything to do with Edinburgh's interest in me, and I don't want to comment on that speculation, to be honest. It is fair to say that I do need more game-time if I'm going to keep improving as a player and play for Scotland, and I love Edinburgh as a city. The fact they're going well in the Magners League and have a coach in Andy Robinson I have a lot of respect for makes Edinburgh an appealing club.
"The whole Scotland thing has been brilliant for me. It's been such a refreshing part of my life over the past year or so and, with the age of the squad we have, I think the next few years will be really exciting. Following my dad's roots is the best decision I ever made and I'm looking forward to joining the national squad again on Monday."
Today, the Tigers welcome back England pair Julian White and George Chuter to their front row, while Brett Deacon, in at blindside flanker, is the only other change to the XV which demolished Harlequins 42-13 on Sunday.
Beside Chuter and White is Puma loosehead Marcos Ayerza, Louis Deacon and Ben Kay are the second-row combination and Martin Corry, now free of international concerns, adds his experience to the other Deacon and Tom Croft in the back row. Even without the injured Lewis Moody, Martin Castrogiovanni and Hamilton, it represents a mighty challenge for the home pack.
Edinburgh suffered a 39-0 reverse at Welford Road in November and are desperate to see an improvement this afternoon. However, were the Edinburgh forwards to disrupt the Tigers in similar fashion to the display against Ian McGeechan's Wasps two years ago, who succumbed 32-31, or more recently when Toulouse ventured to Murrayfield and struggled, the home side will sniff a victory rather than a slimmer defeat.
However, Robinson's team have built some momentum on the back of five wins in six games since that defeat at Leicester. Most might expect that record to come to a halt this weekend, as Europe's fifth-ranked club meets the 22nd, but this team has the ability to upset a Tigers' group out of its usual, well- supported habitat.
Ben Cairns is one of the talented crop lifted into the Scotland squad for training next week on the back of Edinburgh's run and he is confident that, if his pack can compete more effectively this time around, the Edinburgh backs will cause Leicester real problems.
Leicester are missing Harry Ellis, Alesana Tuilagi and Seru Rabeni, yet still have Andy Goode at fly-half, All Black Aaron Mauger and Ollie Smith in the centre, Geordan Murphy at full-back and, opposite Cairns following his switch to accommodate Hugo Southwell's return to full-back, Tom Varndell.
"This is going to be huge," said Cairns. "The game at Leicester let us know where we stood. It gave us a real kick up the backside to push on, but we have.
"We're going into this weekend very positive – we won't let that happen again. We were totally bullied down there and got 'nilled', and that can't happen again. Cardiff was tough last week, but we showed we could play in dreadful weather and still win.
"Welsh sides always try to bully you, and Leicester will try to do the same, but we now know we have the ability to beat big sides in good and bad conditions and that is big for the confidence."
The full article contains 773 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
